The International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA), in conjunction with the International Brangus Breeders Foundation and the IBBA  Breed Improvement Committee, recently completed the fourth year of the Brangus Value Project (BVP). Designed to benchmark the terminal performance of Brangus-influenced feeder cattle, the project continues to display how Brangus genetics deliver consistency, quality, and value throughout the beef supply chain.

Brangus and Ultra-influenced steers participating in the project have consistently outperformed their regional contemporaries in feedyard performance and carcass merit. Compared to the Southwest Kansas Average, BVP steers gained 0.77 more pounds per day, requiring 0.44 pounds less feed per pound of gain, and finished 28 pounds heavier (Table 1).

On the rail, BVP steers averaged 87% USDA Choice and higher, 34% meeting the mark for premium choice and 4% graded USDA Prime. These cattle averaged a yield grade of 3.2 and earned an average carcass premium of $57.33 per head (Table 2 and Table 3).

Tenderness data from the first two years of the project, evaluated at Texas Tech University, further validated the eating experience. Using USDA’s thresholds for tenderness classification, 96% of strip steaks from BVP cattle were rated Very Tender or Tender, with only a 1.75 kg difference in slice shear force compared to leading Angus reference sires, well below the 4.6 kg difference detectable by the average American consumer.

BVP follows cattle from commercial cooperator herds bred to high-use Brangus and UltraBlack sires, through feeding at Hy-Plains Feedyard in Montezuma, Kansas, to harvest at Cargill Meat Solutions in Dodge City, Kansas.

Over four years, the project has evaluated 24 sires and 400 head of cattle, with performance benchmarked against steers fed in the same southwest Kansas region, known for its concentration of high-quality feeder cattle.

The BVP confirms that Brangus-sired feeder steers can consistently grow, grade, and deliver a quality eating experience while driving value across every phase of the beef industry—from the producer to the packer. Combined with the breed’s reputation for producing exceptional females, the results reaffirm Brangus as a versatile, profit-focused option for today’s beef business.